After four Murderbot novellas, I was surprised to find that this was a full-length novel (ebooks are so deceptive!). Happily, the awesomeness carried well throughout the longer length; it felt like a movie after watching episodes of a TV show. I love how the characters care so much for one another without having to rely on hormones or attraction to make it work; Murderbot is a spiky ball of reactions that feels emotions so deeply that it literally cannot deal, and it’s really touching to watch its friends (both human and bot) try to soothe a creature that hates to be hugged and doesn’t want to admit any weakness. I loved the plot, which created drama and tension without feeling forced; I loved the characters, both puzzled human and exasperated bot, and I loved the action, which gets intense at times but remains friendly and readable due to Murderbot’s awesome narrative voice. Great worldbuilding too, using the previous novellas as a foundation for establishing corporate greed and cruelty. Such good stuff; I can’t believe I finished an entire novel’s worth of Murderbot and am still left wanting more.
Martha Wells’ Raksura books are completely different from Murderbot, but I love them just about as much. Wells is extraordinarily good at developing non-human characters that have non-human motivations and senses without making so different that they are unrelatable.
I had absolutely no idea that she had written anything beyond the Murderbot books. I have never felt so deeply protective of a killer robot and I look forward to having my emotions messed with in her other books.